In Which My Friend Betrays Me

It's no secret I'm a huge, huge, dorky fan of the game Rock Band. My obsession started in somewhere in 2007, when my friends Amy and Mikey acquired the game. I'd played Guitar Hero many times, and enjoyed feeling like a rock star and having fun with my friends- minimal effort required.

When Amy and Mikey became my roommates in 2008, playing Rock Band was one of our favorite pastimes. Mikey and I formed Disgruntled Mailbox, the greatest band to ever grace the Playstation 3 leaderboards. Sometimes Amy would play; our friend Moto was a regular contributor on vocals. Now and then, we'd let a friend play guitar while Mikey held down drums and I played bass. Most often, though, it was just Mikey and me, earning gold stars, high scores, and when we were lucky, a place on the PS3 leaderboards.

I'm loathe to admit it, but there were times we skipped class to play. (Granted, it was more because we disliked class than any insane obsession with the game.) We played during the day, at night, through parties. Rock Band and its ilk Rock Band 2 were the soundtracks to our collegiate careers.

Amy on drums, Mikey and I back-to-back on bass & guitar, respectively.

After I moved in 2009, I didn't play. I missed the interaction with friends. I felt isolated, lonely. Those feelings weren't due solely to lack to game play with friends, but that certainly didn't help.

When Johnny bought a Playstation 3 in 2010, I was elated. Here was my chance to reconnect with my long-lost gaming friend, Mikey! Although I saw him when I visited Tennessee, kept up with his life via Amy and Facebook, I knew the PS3 would be a way to interact with Mikey directly.

At first, we played Rock Band and Rock Band 2 as often as we could. However, I found it wasn't the same. Without Mikey's steady (and excellent) drumming in the same room, I couldn't keep rhythm on bass as well. Selecting songs wasn't the same without him gently ribbing me about my choices. In short, it was different and not in a good way. We eventually stopped playing together.

Over Christmas, I was texting Amy about something, and she happened to mention that Mikey had sold his Rock Band games. My reaction was one of disbelief. Surely Mikey hadn't sold the games that had brought us so much joy! But it was true; one of my dearest friends had sold the games that we had shared so many happy hours playing. I was devastated. How could he do this?! 

Three months later, I am still disappointed that I won't have the opportunity to play with my bandmate any time soon. When I really think about it, I think it's all a part of growing up. Rock Band is something that I need to leave behind. Although Johnny and I enjoy playing it every now and then, it will never hold the same specialness for me. I'll always think of it as something Mikey (and Moto, to some extent) and I shared. 

Perhaps, one day, there will be a Disgruntled Mailbox reunion. If I'm really, really lucky.

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In which we go the the Tulsa State Fair & attend a Thunder game

It's been a fairly busy couple of weeks around here, which is certainly not a good excuse for lack of updates, but it's what I'm going with. (I can't say for sure what Johnny's excuse is.)

Last Friday, we headed to the Tulsa State Fair. Fairs, to me, are a glut of glorious excess. The greasy fried foods (most on a stick), overpriced games, and colorful spectrum of people make them a favorite destination for yours truly. I'm pleased to report Tulsa's is no different. We dined on such delicacies as burritos, apple fritters, and polish sausages. I drank beer and contemplated sampling selections from the wine garden.

This burrito was tastier than it appears.

This fritter was less tasty than it appears.

We saw adorable baby animals and equally adorable adult animals. 

Adorable alpaca!

We watched some of the draft horse show, but had to leave because Johnny nearly fell asleep (it was very exciting). We spent a good deal of time wandering around inside various buildings, some of which looked awesome:

Check out that sweet horse mural at the top!

Some of the buildings looked innocuous but contained amazing stuff:

Johnny's Christmas present!

We managed to keep our spending under control and declined a number of good deals for things like hot tubs, pickup trucks, exercise machines, and sequin purses. We left, uncomfortably full and somewhat sweaty, several hours after arriving. It was totally worth it.

Johnny and I returned to action on Thursday to watch the Oklahoma City Thunder face off against the Memphis Grizzlies in a pre-season game played in Tulsa. Johnny is something of a basketball fanatic while I'm more of a casual fan; nevertheless, we both enjoyed seeing superstars like Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and James Harden play. I mostly enjoyed shrieking "JEFF GREEN TWEETED AT ME!" every time he came on the floor. Johnny received a tweet from Grizz, Memphis' mascot, which seemed to make his night. (We are hardcore Twitter users and follow members of both teams. And Jeff Green tweeted at me a few times back in January. THAT'S RIGHT.) The crowd was a bit sparse, which made me think hard about jumping seats. I mean, here's our view: 

I think that's Jeff Green down there. He once tweeted at me.

Instead, I focused my efforts on eating a bratwurst, drinking two beers (Blue Moon on tap, hello! I love you, Tulsa sporting venues!), and devouring chicken strips and fries. (I see you looming, 5K, and I laugh!) Johnny spent most of the first period attempting to figure out the gender and age of a person sitting next to me. The game itself was good, though I won't bore you with the details. Balls were passed, baskets were sunk, I'm pretty sure a dunk or two happened. The starters/stars played for most of the first half and the second half saw the second string. The Grizzlies beat the Thunder (I think I am glad? So conflicted on who to root for.) but the pre-season doesn't really matter. 

Inspired by the sweet NBA action witnessed Tuesday, Johnny and I have devoted several hours of our lives to playing  NBA2K11. (For those not in the know, this is a basketball video game. Not as fun as NBA Jam, but somewhat more realistic.) I have committed to playing with the Grizzlies, which is proving endlessly frustrating, since giant Marc Gasol is little more than a sentient tree and Rudy Gay can't seem to sink a shot to save his virtual life. I digress; the point is, we've had some srs funsies playing. Feel free to join me on my quest for greatness (or ability to simply play an entire game without taking an accidental full court shot) by adding me on the PS3 network- I'm stejpeck.

We'll be back with more posts soon- Johnny will tune you in to the secrets of getting rid of all that extra buttermilk (seriously, why can't you get it in the same size container that heavy cream comes in?) and Oktoberfest is happening in a week (and I have the day off!)! Until next time! 

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